Europe

  • Print Friendly, PDF & Email
  • Send to Kindle

Czech Parliament Asks Government to Recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s Capital, Condemns UNESCO

by TheTower.org Staff |

The lower house of the Czech Republic’s parliament called on the government to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and to stop paying dues to UNESCO, the cultural organization of the United Nations, as long as it continued its anti-Israel bias, The Times of Israel reported Wednesday.

The Czech Chamber of Deputies passed two non-binding pro-Israel resolutions in honor of the fiftieth anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem. One called on the Czech government to “stop all payments of membership fees to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) from the state budget this year,” in response to the passage of a resolution earlier this month by UNESCO denying historical Jewish ties to Jerusalem. The government was also asked not to fund UNESCO in the future if it persists in its anti-Israel bias.

In a second resolution the Chamber of Deputies also called on the Czech government to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and to endorse direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. Daniel Meron, Israel’s ambassador to the Czech Republic, hailed the development saying, “the decision of the parliament to recognize Jerusalem as our capital reflects the will of the Czech nation.”

On Tuesday night the Israeli embassy in Prague hosted a Jerusalem Day celebration at Prague Castle, the residence of the Czech Republic’s president.

“Let me greet you all on the occasion of this gathering that takes place on the eve of the Day of Jerusalem,” Milos Zeman, the president of the Czech Republic wrote in a greeting to the guests. “You have gathered in this magnificent cathedral, the spiritual center of our country so steadfastly connected with our statehood.”

“It was the Czechoslovak Republic that gave the helping hand to Israel in the difficult times. And in exchange, Israel with its vitality and pride encourages us in Europe where we face the evil of terrorism,” Zeman added.

Zeman concluded his message by emphasizing why it was important to support Israel, “It is all the more valuable in the situation when the poisonous shoots of anti-Semitism once again started to take root on the European continent.”

In December of 2015, the Czech Republic’s parliament rejected European guidelines for labeling Israeli products that are produced in the West Bank as discriminatory.

[Photo:  Ervinpospisil / WikiCommons ]

tt